Tag Archives: tic104

Our Timeline showed an overall representation of the 2006 RCA Alarm clock. From where some pieces were created to figuring out if the company no longer existed. These were the issues that we faced when it came to this archeology project. In my reflection I talked about my process of finding my individual pieces and how hard it was just to get an exact match let alone a location on the World map. In my reflection I stated: ” When we started taking it apart we had no idea how much was going to come out of this clock. We found out soon enough that there were plenty parts in the device but the challenge would be cataloging the parts online. I started out originally working on the plastic outside of the clock itself but I soon realized that there was no way for me to research the location of the manufacturer. All I found off the pieces is a small calendar that was etched into both the front and the back part which showed when they reviewed the part before it was shipped off. I then thought well maybe I can work with the speaker. I started to research it and it was so much harder than I thought finding the brand of this speaker let alone the specific speaker itself. At first I found an old website that had speakers of that brand that is on the speaker but I dug deeper and found an updated website. The company specializes in speakers specifically that brand and it seems that they work in a complex. Then I started to work on a capacitor since the plastic was a fail on finding any more information. I went on to find that the brand orient is really an impossible little thing to find on the internet. They would sell 1000 packs of these capacitors but all that they had for the information was that it was made in Taiwan. It took a lot of research but I found the company and I have to say it was pretty satisfying.”

Here are the pictures of the outside of the clock:

These are my parts that I researched and the timeline is the final result. I also have a document of parts and the information which is below:

Part: Speaker

Brand: DYS

Company: Zhejiang Innuovo Loudspeaker Co., Ltd. Hengdian Group

Information about the company: This company has been around since the 1980’s specializing in TV speakers, car speakers, multimedia speakers, hi-fi speakers and theatre speaker systems.

This project has been a doozy. When we started out with this project we had no idea what kind of device we were interested in, what we were going to get out of breaking it apart, and the purpose of this project as a whole. So one of the members of my team found an old digital RCA alarm clock that was created around 2006. When we started taking it apart we had no idea how much was going to come out of this clock. We found out soon enough that there were plenty parts in the device but the challenge would be cataloging the parts online. I started out originally working on the plastic outside of the clock itself but I soon realized that there was no way for me to research the location of the manufacturer. All I found off the pieces is a small calendar that was etched into both the front and the back part which showed when they reviewed the part before it was shipped off. I then thought well maybe I can work with the speaker. I started to research it and it was so much harder than I thought finding the brand of this speaker let alone the specific speaker itself. At first I found an old website that had speakers of that brand that is on the speaker but I dug deeper and found an updated website. The company specializes in speakers specifically that brand and it seems that they work in a complex. Then I started to work on a capacitor since the plastic was a fail on finding any more information. I went on to find that the brand orient is really an impossible little thing to find on the internet. They would sell 1000 packs of these capacitors but all that they had for the information was that it was made in Taiwan. It took a lot of research but I found the company and I have to say it was pretty satisfying. Overall this project was something I never expected to do in college but what I took from it was that if you really dig deep enough there will be something you can find about an object that might be a little outdated. There were ups and downs but we got it done!

It is said that there is around 27 million slaves in the World. In this lifetime. That is a number many of us would never imagine. We think that because our nation has ended it, that its not still prevalent in other nations. What we see as slavery, the other countries see as a way of life. It feels like there is no end to this cycle. The worst part about this is that by purchasing items that we use everyday we are continuing the cycle and we are supporting that these men, women, children, and the elderly have this type of treatment. In class when we had our debate of no longer purchasing these items it took hearing both sides to see how difficult it would be to end slavery. Even if our country would stop purchasing items it wouldn’t stop all of the other countries from purchasing. There would still be others who continue this cycle but it would take all of us as a world to come to a realization that we need to take action. This mistreatment on others isn’t the way life is supposed to be. We need to think of ways to make this reality a part of our history and keep it in the part. There is a saying that the point of history is that we don’t repeat ourselves. As a nation we are proud to no longer have slavery but by purchasing it from countries who have it how does that make us any better? It makes me question my actions and wonder what ways I can make a difference and make slavery and the harsh conditions of the work force more aware. These are my thoughts.

I have decided for my next module I was going to work within the selfie module. I didn’t know how I was going to approach this module. I wanted to figure out the history of a selfie and if there are some that are actually recorded in history visual wise. I also was trying to figure out who was in my group and what approach they were going to have coming into the module. I unfortunately wasn’t able to be at school last week so I didn’t really have time to work on the module with my peers. When I was away and I started to look more into selfies I realized how much it has become a popular thing to do. Wherever you go you just take a selfie as a way to remember it. I also was curious to how far back does the selfie go? When did the term come to life? Was there a different term used back in the day that has now be reinvented? I think that with these questions in mind I want to approach this module at how it became so popular and what made it such a hit. Then once I get back with my group try to figure out what they wanted to get out of this module and maybe work out something and connect all of our ideas together.

Our group decided to do a gif story not on the book itself, but the themes that we believe represent the novel as a whole. So we all decided to create themes that we felt were relevant and then found Gif’s that would embody the idea of our theme. We all went onto giphy.com and decided to pick 4 or 5 and describe how they were connected to our theme. Rose had put the idea of instead of just putting them into the blog post to put into to Storify. This allowed our project to have more fluidity. For my particular theme I chose Blueprints. At first it sounds unusual but the way I look at it this novel is the foundation of creativity, the future of technology, and it also was the map of Case’s life journey with all of the obstacles he had to face. We all came to the idea that Gif’s are so clever but to summarize the whole story wasn’t necessary for the future reader. Giving theme puts a frame or a foundation if you will of what themes you might come across within the novel. It will also give you hints of what to look out for and allow you to come up with your own themes. We called it a survival guide because for us we all had a difficult time to read through this novel and thought that it would be appropriate to name the project as such. I hope that with this project they will discover how much Neuromancer can relate to parts of life today and how even though it was set in a futuristic age all themes can be understood in all parts of time.

From creating the term, “cyberspace” to creating a digital world phenomenon Gibson makes this novel still prevalent today. When I first began reading this novel I was beyond confused. I was never into and never experienced a Sci-Fi novel and as I went further I began to appreciate his out of this time mentality that is more of a reality back then than it was in the 1980’s. Then I was questioning why make us read this book in particular? How does this book have anything to do with Digital Studies. It dawned on me that by reading this novel it wasn’t about the fantasy and creativity that came of this novel. It was the innovation and the idea that one’s mind can have the capabilities to create such machines like artificial intelligence and that there are so much more to create, to discover. Gibson gave us that with giving millions of readers the ideas that are now becoming no longer a fantasy but a reality. There were many themes that were brought in throughout the novel. There was Case past and how that is what was driving him to get back his memories and how the hallucination transformed his on so many levels. There is one quote that I have seen all over social media sites that I believe really did have an impact on readers, “The sky above the port was the color of the television, tuned to a dead channel.” There is a way that Gibson writes that isn’t like anyone and shows in the countless awards that were given to the novel. It wasn’t that Gibson created a new world that was completely out of tune with society, it was the fact that he took a world that has already been created and transformed it into this unexplainable digitalized concept that is now the foundation for many inventions. This wasn’t just a fictional novel it was a blue print for many inventors and creators. I put a link of a video that talks about the novel. These four men are still idolizing a novel that was written in the 80’s because of how much of an impact it has had on this world. The idea that Gibson already had this vision of the future makes you realize how much of an influence he really had. I am also going to put a small article that not only talks about the novel 1984, but also tie in Neuromancer and how one could see this novel as the American Dream. The one that actually fits our reality than others who talk about freedom and rights. This American Dream is about the technology and how that is such a huge part of our culture. That is why we had this novel. It is a part of our culture and how this was one of the novels that really started the idea and creation of cyberspace.

Hi everyone! I’ve decided to blog about my study abroad experience to keep everyone updated, but also so that I can reminisce in great detail when I return. The posts will most likely be sporadic, grammatically incorrect and laced with sarcasm, but also beaming with iPhone pics of mountains and subtle Drake references – so there’s a lot to look forward to. I leave VERY soon and can’t wait to write the first real post!

Man, this week sure went by fast. I wonder why that is. Is it because I was having so much fun? Is it because I learned so much interesting stuff? Or is it because we only had four weeks instead of the usual seven? Yeah, it’s probably that last one. Hey, at least it was mostly one big assignment instead of a bunch of pesky little annoying ones.

Hey, there’s the second of the two assignments I created! I even included a reference that surely no one will get, for good measure. Just think, in the later semesters other students will look at this very assignment and say “meh, I guess I’ll do this one”. It even has a type-o, to match the grammar error in my other assignment. Now future generations will know exactly how much thought and care I put into this class.

Things are certainly a lot different when you don’t have the weekend to work on your stuff. I guess that helps teach me time management skills, or something like that. I also got to learn how to use Audacity more thoroughly, since I kind of avoided it the first time around. Other than that, this week was mostly just reviewing the stuff I already learned. I guess that’s kind of the point, being the final week and all. For the class in general, I think I got a lot out of it. I got that pesky art credit I need to graduate, and I learned a bunch of stuff that I almost certainly will forget by the end of the summer. What more could you ask for?

For the video, first I found a UMW video online. After cutting out the parts I didn’t want and muting all the audio, I used the handy “Record narration” button to add my voice.

Audio

In both audio segments, I incorporated sound effects I found on Freesound. For the first segment, I used an eagle cry and the sound of a crowd screaming. In the second segment, I used a police siren sound and the sound of a car door. Once I had the sound effects I needed, I used the record button in Audacity to add my voice. I also had to cut and paste some of the sounds to make sure everything was in the right order.

Visual

For both visual components, I used Paint. For the map, I took a screenshot from Google Maps and added the circle and text in Paint. For the Iowa picture, I found an image of the state and added the text in Paint.

Design

I made all of the beer pictures using the same PowerPoint file. First, added a rectangle to take up the entire slide, and made it red. Then, I added a blue, 24-point star. Finally, I added two Word Arts to the slide. For each individual image, all I needed to change was the image in the center and the text of the Word Arts. I found the picture of the beer bottles and the Heavy Seas and Starr Hill logos online. Using GIMP, selected the background color then clicked on “Color to Alpha” under the Colors tab to make the background of each image transparent.

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About this Course

This is the homepage for Computer Science 104 (also known as "The Internet Course") taught by Jim Groom and Paul Bond at the University of Mary Washington. For more information take a look at the current syllabus or check out the about page.